My Story & How I Got My Start In Wedding Planning
I am here to tell you all about how I got my start in wedding planning. I will start out by saying that the story of how I found my first wedding planning job isn't particularly interesting. I was lucky enough to find the right job at the right time. But we will get to that part of the story in a second...
Let's back track this story to baby Payton's childhood. I have always been an entrepreneur. When I needed money for whatever reason (still not sure what a 7 year old spends their money on) I would type out a list of assorted chores and services I could offer to my parents with pricing off to the side and ask them what service they would be interested in purchasing. In 5th grade I would buy wholesale press on nails and put them on for girls in my before and after school program for $10 a set. In sixth grade I bought 250 Livestrong Bracelets from China (Thanks Aunt Kristl!) and sold them at school for three dollars a pop. When I was cheering in high school I made giant cheer bows and sold them to the girls in my gym. This business thing has always been my thang.
Planning my birthday parties for example, Luaus, roller skating parties at Skate City, and Slumber parties had a strict schedule. Menus, game plans, themes, and once we had a cake for a sleepover party that was made to look like a bed with the faces, identifiable by differences in skin, hair, and eye color, of all my attending friends peeking out of the top of the blanket (God I miss my Mimi and her baking talents!)
When I went to college, I was a little lost in Boulder. I had planned on getting my Psychology and Education degree with the hopes of becoming a teacher or school psychologist to mold young minds and all that amazing stuff. After my student teaching, having 4th graders bully me for not wearing make up, and current teachers saying "Don’t do it!", I knew that this wasn't the right place for me. I distinctly remember siting down with myself in my sorority house bedroom and writing down all of my favorite things. I loved making things pretty, Pinterest, making people happy and hearing their stories, love, serving others, planning and scheduling things way too far in advance and big, impactful events that give people something to be excited about. I then started googling jobs that had anything to do with the list that I’d made. I was searching for Event Planning jobs in Boulder and stumbled upon a listing on craigslist. Like what are the chances? I interviewed in the hotel lobby of the Boulder Westin and got the job just minutes after interviewing for an intern position. I remember my first few weddings so well and the day that my mentor told me to run a ceremony rehearsal on my own last second. I freaked out, almost cried, and then lead the rehearsal for a 12 person wedding party like I had done it a million times before. Within 6 months at the company, I was planning weddings as a Lead Planner and absolutely fell in love with this life.
Once I graduated from school, I got some business cards, built a website from scratch, and started my own company on August 10, 2015. I guess you could say the rest is history but this story is still so in the works. I didn't go to school for this, I'm not "formally trained", and I don't have a certificate somewhere that says that I am a certified wedding planner. I did the work, worked for a LONG time for free, and gained experience in my own way. I have now had the pleasure of planing at least 50 weddings and events for the people who have trusted me enough to let me do so! We have now been in business for five and half years and 2021 is the most busy year I have ever had as a business owner. The pandemic has brought with it a whole bunch of new challenges that even as professional planners we could have never predicted. My goal for this year is to hire my first associate planner, maybe even two. That means I have to create training manuals and teach other woman to do what I do. But mostly that means giving up control so I can continue to scale this business and be better and stronger as a team. Learning this industry is hard and I have, and continue to, mess up a lot. It is hard to navigate situations where the hours are unpredictable, emotions are high, and there are lots of dollars being spent. Somehow I have thrived in this high stress environment and learned how to turn my personal anxiety, that was so crippling for so long, into a service I can offer to help others. The life of a wedding planner is crazy, stressful, beautifully creative, and will make you question what the hell you are doing but the end result is just...the best thing ever. Welcome to my world and thank you to everyone who has supported me and Promise Event Planners along the way! I couldn’t love y’all more!